Strange Things
by Female Duo
Summary: What happened with that cute red-head at the end of the movie? Here is her story. Senna helps the Captain assimilate to the modern time. They get to know each other and feelings start being felt. The rating is for language, and violence and sexual situations in later chapters. It is set between after Captain America and before Avengers. OC/Steve Rogers
1. Waking Up

**** Author's Note & Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel Universe nor any of their characters/settings/ideas. I use their characters for my own amusement, (and hopefully my readers' amusement too) and have no intention of claiming them as my own. I do, however, own my character, Agent Senna Liddell (the character was only labeled as SHEILD Agent in the movie, so there isn't any legal trespassing there), so please don't use her without my permission. Thank you. Also, I am not very familiar with the Marvel Universe, just the movies mainly, so please don't be too harsh on me if the characters aren't exactly as they are in the comics.**

**This picks up at the very end of the Captain America movie, when Steve wakes up and discovers that he's in a different time because of the baseball game being played on the radio. The red-headed agent now has a name, background, and three-dimensional-ness as my OC. Without further ado, here is the story.**

**xxx**

Senna was unable to calm the Captain down once he has figured out his surroundings weren't real. She called in the code and hoped someone would get to him before her hurt himself. She too decided to run after him, seeing Fury running a head of her. Her red curls bounced as her black pumps clicked on the concrete of New York City. Her hand came up to block out the sun from her blue eyes. She really hoped the Captain hadn't run into traffic and got himself hit by a car or something bigger. Not that he couldn't take it the way he was built, but panic and confusion could add insult to injury and the final work up on the Captain hadn't been done yet, so there wasn't a final say on how his system recovered from the thaw.

When things were back under control, Senna was going to kill the agent who suggested they play that particular broadcast. He had one job! One stupid job, and he fucked it all up! History expert her ass. He single handedly screwed up the entire operation. What mattered now, as Senna came upon the scene of Fury breaking the news to the Captain, was that he was unharmed and his assimilation into the modern world had just been greatly sped up.

Taking an unsaid cue, Senna stepped next to Fury and put a hand out for the Captain to take. She didn't fully know why she did it, but it felt like the right thing to do. The man was lost and confused, and sometimes a comforting hand can make a big difference. Her job hadn't changed, it had just become a bit harder now that the cat was out of the 70 year old bag, but she was still to help Captain Steve Rogers learn about the current time.

"Here," Senna told him, holding her hand out to him, palm up. "I'm sorry about earlier, but I can help you. I'm agent Senna Liddell. Let me help you understand this place." Her voice was soft but assuring. Fury looked at her then back at the Captain. "Go with her," he ordered a bit harshly, causing Senna to give him a look behind his back.

"Do I have a choice?" asked the Captain.

"No," was Fury's last word before turning around and heading back to base.

Senna huffed at the whole situation. Seriously going to kick that agent's ass for causing all this. Turning back to the Captain, Senna softened her face, her hand still out for him to take. "No, but thank you," Steve replied, placing his hand on Senna's arm to move it down. "Just show me back to that place please." he was clearly annoyed at the situation but still polite.

"Sure," Senna replied with a nod. "This way."

The other agents had already started to dissipate, blending into the scenery as many headed back to base. The crowd of spectators was breaking up as well, many simply assuming the whole thing was some kind of New York style, off Broadway spectacle. It was New York City, after all. Strange shit happened a lot in New York City. People get used to it after a while.

Senna was trying to think of something to say, some kind of small talk to fill the awkward, silent walk back. "So, that game, did you really go to it?"

"What?" he asked, looking down at her as they walked back into the building.

"The baseball game, playing in there. You said you saw it in person. Was it a good game?" she asked, a simple hand gesture on her part to show where the room within a room was.

"Yeah. It wasn't too bad," he replied, his expression telling Senna that he didn't mind the conversation. "I apologize again for you having to find out this way. The original plan was to break the news to you after a little bit of time. Introduce you to things gradually, so it wouldn't such a sharp shock. But some idiot had to screw up which broadcast to play..."

"No," Steve interrupted. "I'm sorry for cutting you off, but this is actually better than lying to me for however long. I'd rather know now. Even though I don't like it." He looked around the big room, his eyes pondering over the monitoring equipment, cameras, and such. Senna's heart started to ache for him. She had become familiar with his file while the scientists worked on waking him up from the frozen state he was in. It seemed he had a love interest, a British officer by the name of Peggy Carter. For her own research, Senna had looked up what became of this women. She wanted to make sure she was ready for any question that the Captain could throw at her. She didn't want to stumble on her answers. He deserved more respect than that.

"Well, now that you're up, I know the medical staff need to check a few things out. So if you would please go back into that room," Senna instructed, "And I will bring you anything you need and answer any questions you have." "Thank you. Um.. water please?" Steve asked, walking back into the 1940's made-up room, where a small team of medical staff was already waiting.

"Sure thing," Senna replied with a smile.


	2. Getting to Know Things

****Disclaimer from the first chapter still stands. I do NOT own any Marvel anythings! I swear!**

**xxx**

**Chapter 2: Getting to know this strange place**

Senna didn't have to get the glass of water herself, but it gave herself a chance to walk around and sort her thoughts a bit. It also gave her chance to change out of her 1940s outfit and back into her black pant suit with a crisp white shirt. As well as find that one agent and give him a broken nose for his screw up.

Feeling satisfied by her expel of anger, Senna walked back to the Captain's room within a room with a glass of water in one hand, and a pitcher of water in the other. She figured he'd be a bit thirsty after 70 years of being frozen in ice. Not bothering to knock, Senna used her elbow to press down the door handle and open it.

"Oh, I am so sorry," she said, quickly adverting her eyes as she put the glass objects down on a table. The Captain was in the middle of a physical exam, the 'turn and cough' part, when she had walked in. Senna brought a hand to her temple in feeling of idiocy for not knocking.

"He's dressed now," the doctor said, passing by her to leave, a childish smirk on his face, to which Senna replied with an evil glare. The doctor just laughed and walked out.

"I really should have knocked," Senna said once they were alone. "It's okay," Steve replied, taking the glass of water that was offered to him, a slight blush on his cheeks. Senna wasn't fully sure if she too was blushing, but one thing was for sure, she would never get _that_ image out of her head.

"Okay," Senna started, breaking the awkward silence. "Like I stated before, my name is Senna Liddell, and before you ask, no I am not related to Alice Liddell, the girl used as inspiration for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," Senna joked. Although, she wasn't sure if he would understand it or not. Oops...

"Anyways," she continued, grabbing the cool pitcher and placing it on her knuckles, "My job is to help you assimilate to this time period, catch you up from the very date you crashed, all the way up to today's date, or whichever date we happen to be on when everything is through. Now, because it was expected that you'd be in this room for about two to five days, your apartment in town isn't ready yet. But this facility has everything you need, even living quarters that are much better looking than this crummy space. We also have a kitchen and cafeteria that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and showers. It's like a mini university, classrooms included." As Senna explained, Steve noticed she was rubbing the pitcher against her left hand. His eyebrows creased in slight confusion.

"What happened there?" he asked, holding his hand out now to her. "Hu?" she replied, not realizing what he was talking about until she looked down at what she had been doing. "Oh, this, I'm just keeping it from swelling up," Senna answered, holding up her slightly reddened hand for the Captain to inspect. "I kind of, well not kind of, I _did_ punch an agent's face in passing while getting your water."

"Why?"

"Because he was the one who screwed up that baseball broadcast. I was merely telling him how dissatisfied I was with him." Senna grinned sarcastically with her second answer. Steve smiled back but his eyes still looked a bit confused over the subject. "Moving on, to more interesting things than me," Senna said, trying to get back on the topic at hand, "If you would like, we can move you to one of those living quarters here on site, and within a week, you'll be moved into your apartment. Aside from that, you and I will get together for what I like to call, 'Learning about the ages,' where we cover the past decades from head to toe and have you being a man of the 21st century in no time."

"First things first, do you have any questions for me, about anything at all?" Senna got up and re-filled the Captain's empty glass. Steve sat on the bed and thought for a few seconds. He took a few more sips from his now filled glass before answering.

"I think just about everything I want to ask, you're going eventually answer with your 'lesson'," he replied, making quotations with his fingers. "Except for maybe a few questions I have about some individuals."

Senna nodded, waiting to hear what his questions were, mentally preparing herself to answer questions about Carter and Stark. After a more silent seconds, it seemed Steve finally decided to ask his questions. He started by asking about Howard Stark, to which Senna explained what had happened with him, about his son Tony, and the advancements in technology the two had contributed over the years. Then came the harder question to answer, what had become of Peggy Carter. Senna cleared her throat before answering, telling him of the woman's life events since the Captain's crash. By the time both explanations were said, Senna was pretty sure it had been a few hours, probably even past the 'regular working hours' meaning past 1700.

Steve sat thinking over all the information he had just heard, making the gesture to drink from his glass when he realized it was empty again then looking to see that he had gone through the entire pitcher already as well. Senna wasn't sure how he was going to react to it all, so she just sat in wait, part of her hoping he'd be okay for his own sake, and another part selfishly hoping he'd be okay so she could go get something to eat. When he finally spoke, it wasn't what Senna thought it would be.

"Is there anything to eat in the kitchen you had mentioned earlier?" He too had felt the alight tug of hunger while Senna was explaining to him about his friends, but he wanted to know everything her could before moving on to other things. Senna smiled at him. "Yes, of course, though I think our cooks have left for the day already. But I can make some macaroni and cheese if you'd like?" Steve nodded and they both got up to leave the room.

Senna decided to show the Captain the part of the facility he'd be spending the most time around until his apartment was ready to move into. She showed him the corridor of quarters, the showers and restrooms, to which he stopped to relieve himself of all the water he had drank. When he emerged, Senna continued the small tour by showing him some of the classrooms, the workout room, and finally the cafeteria and kitchen.

"Okay, let me find a pot, and the macaroni box."

"Can I help with anything?" Steve asked, feeling like he should be doing something to help instead of just standing around leaving Senna to do everything. "Yes, actually. Go through that fridge over there and pick out anything else you'd like. We have fresh fruits and veggies, milk, juice, various meats from hot dogs, cold cuts. I even think we have left over salmon from lunch today. Help yourself and I'll get the water boiling for the pasta," Senna explained. As the Captain rummaged through the big refrigerator, Senna began humming to herself, a song from a movie that was stuck in her head. The water began boiling and she poured in the pasta, re-reading the directions on the back of the box. "Hey, could you please hand me the butter? I'm going to make the sauce cheesier with it."

Steve looked around for what she asked and saw a small box that had the words, "Land-O-Lakes Butter" on it. He guessed that was what she was asking for. After handing it to her, and Senna responding with a thank you, she went back to humming her tune. "You have a pretty voice," Steve commented, unknowingly interrupting Senna's thoughts.

"Oh, thank you. I didn't even realized that I was doing that out loud."

"What song is it?" he asked.

"It's from a movie. It's called, "Come What May," from the movie, "Moulin Rouge." It's from the past few years. I'll cover it when we get to the second wave of musicals."

"Second wave of what?" Steve asked, moving to take the pot from Senna's hands as she moved to drain the pasta in the colander in the sink. "Thank you," she replied. "Um.. musicals, right, those came after your time, well, most of them anyways. Musicals are movies that have a lot of songs in them, the actors sing and dance like they would on stage. There was a wave of musicals made in the 1950s and 60s, then they died out of popularity. Then, a few decades later, at about the start of the 2000s, people made new musicals or turned Broadway shows into big screen flicks, making singing and dancing in movies popular again. They haven't really gone out of style yet, but they're production has slowed in the past few years. Popular culture flows in waves, something myself and a colleague will cover later." As she spoke, Senna returned the pasta to the pot, mixed the cheese sauce together with the pasta, and then grabbed two plates from a nearby cabnet.

Steve had more questions about what exactly a musical movie was, but he kept them to himself because Senna had said she'd explain it all to him at another time. The two put their plates of food together and Senna decided to show him to where he'd be spending the night. "I'm going to head back to my office and then go home for the night, but if you need anything tonight, just say so. There are people working the night shift and can help with just about anything. Your room already has fresh bedding and a few clothes in the closet. There should also be shower things too. If not, like I said, just ask and someone will help. It was an honor to finally meet you Captain," Senna stated.

"Steve, please," he requested. A light blush spread over Senna's cheeks without her knowing it. "Steve, I hope you have a good night and I will see you tomorrow morning." Senna turned and head to her office, eating her food as she walked. It was later than she had intended to leave and she wanted to get home as soon as possible. Blake wasn't going to be too thrilled about her tardiness. At that thought, Senna picked up her pace, shoveling food in her mouth as she nearly jogged to her office to gather her things and head out the door. She left the empty plate on her desk, planning on taking care of it the next day. Her main need right then was to get home quickly. She just hoped Blake wouldn't be in too much of a mood over her being later than she originally told him she would be home.


	3. Fading Bruises and Hidden Talent

**Chapter 3: Fading Bruises and Hidden Talent**

**A/N****: The two songs mentioned by name in this chapter are "She Wants to Move" by N.E.R.D and "Cups" by Anna Kendrick. Before anyone jumps me for this, I am well aware that the movie, Pitch Perfect, came out ****_after_**** Captain America. But I love the song so much, so I'm defying the time line.**

**Disclaimer****: I do not own the rights to these songs nor do I own anything related to Marvel. (sadly).**

**xxx**

The last three days had gone slowly and yet quickly at the same time for Captain Steve Rogers. Senna covered the rest of the war, all of the 1950s, and the very beginning of the 1960s. She had brought in other agents whose specialties were on specific events during these times. She had shown him short films on a projector screen as well as on something she called a "power point". The swell of information he was hit with had moved quickly but what made it slow was all the new questions he had once something new was covered. Steve usually held off on asking anything because a few moments later, the question in his head would get answered by either Senna or the agent who was helping her cover that particular topic. But the few he did ask, Senna would just smile, as if she had been expecting his question, and say, "That's in the next section. We'll get there, don't worry." It was assuring but Steve couldn't shake the bit of frustration he felt about this whole ordeal.

Part of his mind still couldn't grasp that he was in the future, that so much had changed in as little as ten years since the ice, and yet he still had about forty or so more years left to cover until he was able to know about the up-to-date things going on.

After his lesson over President John F. Kennedy at the end of the third day, Steve changed clothes and headed to the gym Senna had pointed out his first night there. Walking in, he knew he wasn't alone. There was music playing, something he hadn't heard before, and the light sounds of a punching bag being hit echoed. Then he heard the voices. One was Senna's and the other's was another female. Steve didn't mean to eavesdrop, but neither woman seemed to know he was there yet. Most likely due to him being at the opposite end of the work out facility and partly shielded by various work out equipment between them.

Moving a bit closer, he could see Senna was the one hitting the hanging bag while a brunette held it. Both wore black tank tops but Senna wore black loose fitting pants while the other had on shorts. Steve was watching Senna's long red hair, in its natural straight state, whip around her face in a ponytail with each swing. It was the word, 'bruise,' that caught his attention to the conversation the women were having.

"Senna, tell me the truth," the brunette was inquiring, a look of concern on her face.

"I am. Nothing happened," Senna answered.

"Really? Then why did I see what I saw?"

"It's a bruise, Talia, it's not like we don't get them all the time around here. 'Specially with our profession. I was just clumsy the other day while sparring, that's all," Senna answered with a defensive tone. She hit the bag a few more times, her eyes on her target instead of her friend. She hated lying more than anything else, but Talia simply wouldn't understand the truth. No one did.

What Steve didn't know was what had led to this current conversation. While Senna was changing in the locker room for her workout, her friend had caught a glimpse of a fading bruise on the red-head's thigh. It was why she was wearing work out pants instead of shorts.

The brunette wasn't accepting the frail excuse. "Really? I call bullshit," she said, shoving the bag at Senna before kicking her friend in said bruised area. This caused Senna to fall backwards, her hands, luckily, flying back to catch her from slamming too hard on the ground.

"What the fuck?" Senna shouted. Steve stopped himself from walking over to help, his curiosity wanting to know why the brunette hit her friend.

"Had that been a simple klutz bruise, your leg wouldn't have given out like that!" the brunette shouted back. Neither woman, still, realized the Captain's presence. He had even sunk out of their line of site, curiosity and concern over what they were saying keeping him in the eavesdropping state.

The brunette squatted down to her friend. Although she spoke in a lower voice than earlier, Steve could still pick up on it in the newly silent space, the music having run out of tracks.

"If he's hitting you again, Sen, you gotta tell someone," the brunette begged.

It would kill Senna to do this, but she looked the other woman in the eyes. "I swear to you, Tal, Blake isn't hitting me. My leg gave out because of the surprise hit. I promise."

The brunette let out an unsatisfied sigh but knew better than to press the subject farther. She stood up and reached a hand to Senna to take. Once Senna was standing again, the brunette stated she was going to shower, change and go home for the night. Senna waved her goodbye at the retreating figure walking into the woman's locker room, before turning on her music again.

Senna stretched out her arms as N.E.R.D.'s "She Wants to Move," came playing through her small radio.

Steve decided that now was a good time to reveal himself, acting as if he had just walked in and hadn't known a thing about the two women's conversation.

"Hello Agent Liddell," he greeted with a smile, wrapping his hands with tape.

"Hey Captain," she replied, her eyes never leaving the bag in front of her.

"Call me Steve, please."

"Then call me Senna, and we have a deal, _Captain_." Senna looked at the Captain coyly when she spoke her last word. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him wearing only a muscle shirt, work out pants and wrapping his big, strong hands with athletic tape.

"Okay. That's a deal," Steve replied, noticing a slight pink shadow appear on the woman's cheeks. He told himself it was from the work out she was doing.

Senna peeled her eyes away to focus back on the punching bag, fighting off her memory of that first day and walking in to see… NOPE! She wasn't going to think about that. Nope. She dished out a few more punches at the bag, hiding a wince when her last punch jarred the bruised rib she also had. Senna was relieved that Talia hadn't seen that one. Otherwise her klutz excuse would never held water with the already suspicious woman.

Steve watched Senna attack the punching bag and couldn't help but notice that the woman's form was all wrong. "If your arm hurts when you hit, it's because you're doing it wrong," he commented when he saw the small wince.

"Oh really?" Senna questioned, stopping what she was doing to give her full attention to the Captain. She kept her school-girl crush at bay while Steve came up and demonstrated the stand and form that his friend had once taught him. Senna studied him intently, her school-girl crush forgotten as she was genuinely interested in the lesson being shown. She knew Krav Mega and other mixes of fighting techniques, but this was specifics of boxing.

"See?" Steve asked after demonstrating a punch combo.

"Yeah, thanks Cap-… Steve." The Captain smiled at the correction. It was nice to be around the woman outside of their lessons. He felt less like a grade school student and more like an equal with Senna.

Senna put her newly learned form to the test and took a couple jabs at the punching bag while Steve held if for her. Her ribs still stung but her hits felt better, more powerful than before. Hearing her phone timer go off, Senna realized her workout tie was over. "Thank you for the pointers, Steve. It's shower time for me. See you tomorrow," she stated, picking up her radio, towel, and phone, then walked into the women's locker room.

Steve nodded and watched her leave, subconsciously watching her hair again as it partly clung to the woman's sweat-covered neck and partly swinging as she walked. It was the soft sound of the locker room door closing that brought him back to himself. He went on with his workout as he originally planned, his mind silently wondering about the conversation he had overheard earlier. Who was Blake, and was he really hitting Senna?

xxx

Later that night, Senna sat in the SHIELD cafeteria alone. The work day was over, and the majority of her day-time co-workers had left to home for the day. Senna didn't like leaving her office with work half-finished. After her workout, she had gone back to her office to finish the paperwork regarding the Captain, entering new data about their lessons, and planning for the next day. Her stomach reminded her of the time. Blake was on a trip, so Senna could be late coming home that night. So she went to the kitchen and made herself a simple sandwich and decided to sit in the quiet cafeteria.

She drank the last of her water and as she placed her plastic cup on the table, she got an idea. She glanced around the room, making sure she was alone and then started making a beat with her cup and hands. The song was, "Cups" from a movie she liked called, "Pitch Perfect," and Senna had learned the song in one day while she was bored at home.

"I got my ticket for the long way 'round," she sang, "two bottles of Whiskey for the way. And I sure would like some sweet company, and I'm leaving tomorrow, waddya say?" Senna took a breath to begin the next part of the song, but was cut off by a male voice answering with, "Sure."

The voice interrupted her and startled her at the same time. "Jeezus!" she exclaimed, dropping the cup and standing up quickly, her hands halfway up to a defense stance. When she realized it was someone friendly and familiar, her guard dropped.

"Captain, you startled me," she said, catching a steadier breath.

"I'm sorry. And I thought we agreed it was Steve and Senna. Or would you like to go back to being called Agent Liddell?" he teased lightly. He had come in the room right after Senna had looked around, and was captured by the precision of her hands with the cup. Then she had started singing, and her voice was quiet lovely, in Steve's opinion. He hadn't meant to startle her, but he said what he was thinking out loud when she 'asked' her question.

Senna let out a small giggle at the man's tease. "I prefer Senna, thank you. I'm just going to have to get used to referring to you as a person instead of a myth," she explained.

"A myth?" This had Steve intrigued a bit. He walked over and picked up the forgotten cup and placed it back on the table. He took a chair and sat down as Senna did the same with her own chair. "Yes, a myth," Senna started, "You're talked about around SHIELD, a lot, before we found you. Especially Coulson. Even though it's been a few days, I'm still getting used to you being a real person versus some tale I heard told by saltier SHIELD agents."

Steve seemed to ponder this explanation a moment. Senna, meanwhile, wondered what had brought him to the cafeteria. Before she got a word out though, Steve was asking something of her.

"What were you singing? Could you show me what that was with the cup?" Although he had been told about the pop culture of the 50s, going into the 60s, he knew next to nothing about the current music tastes. And what Senna had been doing was fascinating to him. Senna, on the other hand, was a bit thrown off by this. She hadn't considered herself a performer. She had a love for musicals, both movies and theatre, and she enjoyed singing. But it wasn't usually in front of people, unless it was karaoke, and she had a few drinks in her already.

Nervously putting a strand of hair behind her ear, Senna decided to do the easy part, answer the first question. "Uh, I was singing a song from a movie that recently came out. It's called, 'Cups' also known as 'When I'm Gone.' And the cup thing is what she does in the movie for her beat. The actress sings it acapella," she explained. Steve nodded in fascination. "And, you'll show me the beat she makes with the cup?" he asked again, this time handing Senna the cup with a half puppy-dog look on his face.

Senna found that she couldn't say no to those rich blue eyes staring back at her. "Okay, fine," she agreed begrudgingly. "But you have to promise not to laugh at me. I don't really perform in front of people," she stated, waiting for him to agree before she continued.

She started going through the motions slowly, explaining what she was doing as she did it. Then she spend up the tempo a bit more, turning her explanations into 8-counts. Steve fixated on her hands as Senna moved up her motions to the tempo she was doing when he walked in. Senna exuded confidence as she tapped away with her cup and hands. She had gotten lost into a world of music, nearly forgetting the Captain was there as she started singing again. This time, Steve didn't interrupt her, letting her finish the first verse, then the first chorus, and the second verse.

Due to her relaxed state of mind, Senna hadn't noticed that Steve was gradually moving closer to her. That is, until his lips were on hers, interrupting her before she got to the second chorus.

Senna was still for that first second, not fully sure what to do. But then she placed a hand on Steve's cheek and closed her eyes, leaning into the soft kiss. Steve gently pulled away from her lips, but their faces were still inches apart. "I'm sorry," he whispered, not sure with himself where that had come from. It was just, as she was singing, her face lit up with happiness and she seemed so beautiful that he couldn't help but kiss her.

Senna damned herself mentally as her brain clicked. She pulled away from Steve, taking her hand off of his face but it still tingling from the touch. "No, I'm sorry. I- I'm seeing someone, Steve. So I shouldn't have done that," Senna confessed.

"Oh," was the Captain's only reply as awkward, static air settled between them. Feeling the need to take the lead on this situation, Senna stood up with her plate and cup and bade the super solider good night. "I'll see you tomorrow. We're going to finish the 1960s decade and have you listening to psychedelic music in no time." There was that soft, reassuring smile that Steve had steadily fallen for over the past few days. He nodded his response and told her good night before she left him alone in the cafeteria and to his thoughts.

He didn't like what they said to him. If she was seeing someone, maybe it was this Blake fellow? And if it was, did that mean the man Senna was seeing was also the man hitting her, giving her bruises? Steve didn't like the thought of that at all. Not in the least.

xxx

**So, let me know what y'all think. I'm a bit rusty with stories, so I would appreciate any kind of comments. Thank you. :)**


	4. Exploring The New, New York

**Disclaimer: I own nothing…. Except Senna, she's mine.**

**xxxxx**

**Chapter 4: Exploring**

Senna had wanted to stay in bed and avoid going to work so she didn't have to see the Captain. But that went against her professional self. The self that S.H.I.E.L.D. had seen inside of her and recruited her because of. Her wanting to hide away was who she had been in the past, who she had been all throughout school, never standing up for herself, always walking with eyes casted to the ground, shying away from social groups, and being out casted by the outcasts. Senna was different now, confident and strong. Well, with a few exceptions whenever she was at home, but things were getting better. Blake's outburst at the beginning of the week was an exception. She had been much later coming home than she had originally told him, he was packing for a work trip and he had a bad day. She didn't make things any better by being so late and not helping him pack. That was all. And he made up for it. (Like he always did)

Senna just felt guilty for having kissed Steve when she had a good guy of her own. But that wasn't a good enough excuse to not go into work that day. So she got up, put her game face on, and went through her day as if nothing had happened the night before. She treated Steve as she usually did with a few exceptions that she didn't even notice, but Steve did. Whenever her hand would accidentally brush upon Steve's, it would linger a bit, relishing the warmth of the man's hand, before being quickly pulled away to carry on the lesson.

This behavior continued for a few more days along with some more casual chit-chatting when they took lunch and when Senna stayed late and had dinner at S.H.I.E.L.D. Blake was out of town for about 10 days, so she didn't worry about having to get home at a certain time. She also enjoyed their conversations, even though she wasn't fully aware of her light flirting.

Her actions were a bit confusing for the Captain. She had kissed him back and then told him she was seeing someone and then acted like nothing happened all the while seeming more friendly than she was before they kissed? Maybe flirty? More something before their kiss, but Steve didn't quite know what. He wasn't too good with women before the ice, and Senna was throwing him for an odd loop. He wasn't sure if she was doing anything on purpose and he decided to keep it to himself. He didn't want to ruin their budding friendship.

After a few days of their pleasant conversations, Senna finally told him that his apartment was ready to move into. "I even went grocery shopping," she said with that bright smile of hers. "So, no lessons in a classroom today. I've been given permission to take you out and see the sites of the modern New York City." Senna sounded as excited as she felt, though she tried not to show it in her controlled composure.

Steve, too, was excited by this news as well as seeing Senna in what he would call 'civilian clothes'. She wore jean pants, a purple v-cut t-shirt, her hair in a ponytail, silver hoop earrings and white wedge sandals. She looked good, in Steve's opinion, even though he always thought she looked presentable and professional while they worked together, but this was a different side to her. A more carefree side, and he liked it.

Senna had planned this day out since the Captain first woke up. She wanted to show him so much, old and new. They hadn't covered 9-11 yet in their lessons, but taking him to the site would be an improvised lesson, more personal than picture stills and lecturing. She was also pretty sure that the Statue of Liberty looked different than it had back in the Captain's time. Then there was Yankee Stadium, Rockefeller Center, Broadway, Central Park, plus some little local places she knew about. There was a chance that they wouldn't see everything in one day, but now that Steve was allowed out into the world, she could take him on multiple trips. It would make covering the modern time so much easier on her.

She was so excited, there was a hop in her step as she lead the Captain to the garage and then to her car. "First, we're going to your apartment. Your things have already been sent over. Then we're off to explore the city, see anything you want," she announced as they got into the car. Her smile was so catching that the Captain found himself smiling just as brightly before they even pulled out of the garage. He couldn't wait to see outside of the S.H.I.E.L.D. building.

As they drove, Senna put her phone on her Slacker Internet Radio station and plugged it into the car. "Here's some modern-day music. Don't judge anything until you've heard a song fully, okay?" she asked. Senna wasn't sure how much he'd like or not like the music of the current time. It was vastly different from the 1930s and 40s music he had grown up on, but hopefully he didn't think too harshly about it. She also hoped that he didn't assume every woman was a whore and every man was a gangster because of the majority of the popular songs being played. Luckily, Senna had already set up a station for them to listen to. It didn't have hard core rap, but a nice mixture of pop, r&b, country and dance music. None of that Justin Bieber-Taylor Swift crap, and especially none of that dub-step nonsense.

Senna laughed as the song, "Stupid Girls" by P!NK came on. Steve looked at her with confusion. "Just listen to the song. It's pretty funny. She's making fun of how dumb some girls have become," Senna explained. Steve listened to it, a look of concentration on his face as Senna expertly maneuvered her Ford Focus around city traffic. When the song was over, Senna paused her station to ask him what he thought of it.

There was an amused look on the Captain's face. "I'm not quite sure what to think. It was amusing but do girls really run around with little dogs in little shirts, flipping their hair around?" Senna couldn't help but laugh at the question. "I think a trip to the mall will answer that question. But first, here we are. Your apartment complex. Nice hu?" she stated, pulling up to the underground parking. She parked in Steve's designated parking spot and they got out of the car. "We'll leave the car here and walk everywhere today. And of course take the public transportation, you'll learn a lot in the subway," Senna informed him as they walked out of the garage at stopped to look at his new apartment building.

Steve looked up at his building, studied the appearance of it and the surroundings of it. He needed to learn it as quickly as possible so he didn't risk the chance of getting lost. The city had grown since he was last there, he noticed that on the drive. The two went in to the lobby and caught an elevator just before it closed. "You're on the 12th floor, number 1213. Here's your key," Senna said, handing him his new key to his new place. "I figure you should do the honors of opening it."

The elevator dinged their destination and the couple walked out and down the hall. Steve was looking for the number 1213 and when he found it, he briefly hesitated on opening the door, the realization that he really was here, in a strange place, strange time, and there was no way of going back to his own time, fully setting in. Senna saw the brief flash of sadness cross the Captain's face. She wanted to reach a hand to one of his cheeks, but she kept her hands by her sides and waited patiently for him to open the door. She had already seen it, even helped put away the groceries she bought and had some input on the modest décor. She hoped he liked it.

Steve put the key in the lock and turned it, the bolt unlocking with a click. He took a small swallow and pushed opened the door. The apartment wasn't the fanciest in the city, but it wasn't the worst either. S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't want their super solider living in poor conditions but they also weren't about to spoil the man rotten. Senna was lucky enough to have a little say in what kind of place the Captain should have, an apartment with enough room for him to have a few people over and yet not too big for him to feel like he didn't need to go anywhere else.

It was comfortable, with a small, square living space, an open kitchen, and a one-person-fitting hallway that lead to two same-sized rooms and the one full bathroom. One of the rooms was Steve's bedroom, and the other simply held a punching bag hanging from the ceiling. It was Senna's idea to put it there, but she really hoped what the other agents were concerned about didn't come true: Steve punching the bag out of the window, tearing it from its ceiling hook. The living space had a three person, beige couch, a coffee table, a lazy boy chair, and a tv. There were two book shelves against the wall, one completely empty while the other had a few books that were about the decades Senna had already covered with Steve. One of the places they were going to go was a book store, where she hoped he'd pick up more books if he wanted. In his bedroom was a modest twin sized bed, for now, with a chest-of-drawers as well as a closet. The kitchen had all the basics: fridge, stove, one oven, a dishwasher that Senna wasn't sure Steve would use, and a microwave. In the fridge was some fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, milk, sliced cheese and cold cuts, and creamer. In the freezer side was some frozen meals, frozen pizza, and two things of ice cream: one chocolate, one vanilla, Senna wasn't sure which Steve liked. In the small pantry was some macaroni & cheese boxes, boxes of various flavor granola bars, baking necessities, cereal, coffee mix, and bread. All basic things Senna thought Steve would need and hopefully like.

Steve looked around the living space and kitchen combination, his eyes studying the area. It didn't look bad or too different than places he'd seen during his time. The television set in the room was different looking than what he'd known and it was odd that he had one in the first place because when he was around before, no one had a television set in their house. It was the movies and the radio that kept people entertained. He did notice a radio, the kind he grew up with, on the bare bookshelf and next to it was three black rectangles, the middle one looked like it had buttons on it. Senna's breath was shallow, nearly holding it as she watched Steve inspect his new living quarters. She really hoped he liked it and felt like it could be home for him. Without realizing it, she was twiddling her thumbs in nervousness as Steve walked over to the two radios, looking at the newer one trying to figure out what it was.

"That's a stereo, our modern-day radio," Senna said, coming over to join him at the shelf. "There's a remote here, and you can be in the kitchen or something and control the volume from there or change cd tracks or radio stations, things like that. The tv has one too. Here," Senna took the remote and put it in Steve's hand then placed his hand in hers, directing his thumb to the 'power' button. She wasn't aware what her closeness was doing to Steve's pulse. He was barely paying attention to what Senna was showing him because he was concentrating on how soft Senna's hands were on his and how sweet her faint scent of perfume smelled. Only the sound coming from the black rectangles distracted him from Senna. "And this is the volume," she said, placing his thumb over the volume up button then the down button. "To change the radio station you can either hit search, which will just switch through the airwaves, stopping whenever it reaches a radio station or you can manually switch through the waves and find a station with this button." Senna maneuvered Steve's fingers over the remote, explaining it as simply as she could. Meanwhile, Steve was doing his best to take in everything she was showing him but he couldn't resist taking an inhale breath to breath in the scent of Senna's hair near his face.

After showing everything on the radio remote she could, Senna finally noticed how close she was. Her mind flashed back to the kiss they shared a few nights back and she subconsciously wet her lips with the swipe of her tongue. Steve noticed this and followed suit, wetting his own lips without realizing his actions. Their eyes were no longer looking at the remote or the radio but into each other's. They stared for a few seconds, no words passing between them, only shallow, calculated breathes. Senna was the first to break the spell, taking her hand off of Steve's, leaving the stereo remote in his hand as she took a few steps away.

"Um… well, would you like to see the rest of your place or should we head out that way you can look around without someone here?" Senna asked. Steve's head was a big foggy, but with Senna not so close to him anymore, he was able to think a bit clearer. "Um, sure. I really would like to see the city. I'll look around here later. But thank you for doing all this," he replied. Senna smiled and led the way out of the apartment. The two took the elevator back down to the street level and walked out of the door. Senna led the way to the subway and decided to start with the farthest places first and work their way back towards Steve's apartment.

The rest of the day went well. Senna took Steve to the Statue of Liberty and then the site of the Twin Towers. She explained what had happened to them and what was being done in their footprints. She could see tears welling up behind Steve's eyes as he ran his hand over the memory wall with all the names on it. She too felt the pressure behind her eyes being there. "You said we caught him, right?" Steve asked finally. "Yes, a few months ago. He paid for his crimes," Senna answered. After having been there a while, Steve finally asked to go somewhere else and Senna agreed. "This certainly isn't the place I left," Steve said while they rode the subway to their next destination. Senna felt bad for the Captain again, doing her best to understand where he was coming from.

"I know it's different, but this place is still good. We have a black president, and new medicine advancements and we still have the same freedoms we did when you were around. I mean, I know it seems like people now take advantage of those freedoms, but when you compare it to some of the other governments of the world, we still care about our people. We don't force our women to have abortions after they've already had one child, and we don't allow someone's religious laws to outweigh our nation's. Women can vote and drive, go to school and take jobs without having a male give them permission. Jobs promotions are based on skill level instead of whether or not you have a family with kids. More men are staying home and spending time with their kids, divorce rates are a lot higher than your time, but people are marrying who they truly love now, so marriages are also lasting longer, which is an odd statistic when you think about it, but it's true. So, yeah, it's not the place you left but it's not all bad either," Senna explained. She wasn't a fan of getting political, but Captain America looked like he needed some new hope in order to live in this new time.

Steve still looked a bit unsure, but he smiled at Senna nonetheless. The subway reached their destination and Senna smiled brightly as they emerged from the underground and reached the Museum of Modern Art. "Here we are," she announced happily. "Now let's go get lost in some crazy-ass art, shall we?" Steve's eyes widened a bit at the use of language Senna said, but the look on her face, the look of excitement had him shaking it off and walking in with her.

Senna hoped the museum would brighten both their moods. She hadn't realized how emotionally draining going to the Twin Tower site would be, all she thought about was the personalized lesson about their current time. But this was a man with old-school American pride, a trait that many of the 21st century had lost or confused it with political bullshit. The kind of pride Steve had in his country during his time was the kind of pride Senna only saw right after 9-11. But then people were quick to judge the war, the president, everything. The American people lost their pride, stopped hanging the American flag from every window and began bashing everything their country did or didn't do. Senna saw all of that, but it hadn't ever sunk in the way did when she and Steve were at the Twin Tower site. She really hoped it didn't make him lose his faith in his country.

Walking around the museum, Senna learned things about Steve that wasn't in his file. Like, he appreciated art, understood things about it that she didn't and she found herself following him around instead of vice versa. Steve appeared to be in a better mood now that they were exploring the world of art. "Thank you for bringing me here," he finally said while they were standing in front of a painting.

"You're welcome. I used to come here with my parents and had a few school field trips here too. There's just something about it that makes you feel like a kid and an adult at the same time. It also makes you want to go out and splash paint randomly on a blank canvas," she commented with a light giggle. The two stood there for a few more minutes until the silence was broken by the sound of a stomach grumbling. They both lifted their heads and looked at each other, neither one admitting whose stomach that was but both smiling at it.

"Come on, let's go get something for lunch then maybe off to a book store?" Senna suggested.

"Sure," Steve agreed, knowing it had been Senna's stomach that made the noise and not his.

The rest of the day went better, no more sad moments and plenty of laughter as Steve explained some funny accounts of things while he had been on the Captain America tour. Things like wardrobe malfunctions just before getting on stage, Steve mistaking the name of the town he was in, two Hitlers that came on stage at the same time because both actors had forgotten who was going on that night, and nearly getting kicked in the face by the dancers as Steve moved around on stage.

After lunch, Senna took him to a book store that was near his apartment building. While Steve looked around the history book, Senna went to the record section and bought him a turn-table and a few records: Ira Gershwin, Fred Astaire, and Singin in The Rain soundtrack. She purchased her items and double bagged them so Steve couldn't tell what she bought. "Don't worry about it," she told him simply when he asked.

The two headed back to Steve's apartment and the soldier saw his new living accommodations for the second time. He still had to get used to seeing it and accept that it was his place to stay. As he went to look at the other rooms, Senna made quick work of setting up the record player and playing one of the records. When he heard the music coming from the front room, Steve thought she had turned on the radio again. It wasn't until he emerged from the hallway that he saw the player on the coffee table and Senna with a big smile on her face, beaming at him.

"Did you get this for me?" he asked, squatting down to look at the set up and the records. "Yep. I thought I'd get you your first house warming gift. I hope you li-" The sound of Senna's phone ringing cut off the red-head's words. "Excuse me for a second," she said, taking her phone out of her pocket and answering it as she walked down the hall.

"Hello? Oh hey hon, how's your- wait, what? What? How do you know what- Oh, I see. Well, just because you can hack into my account doesn't mean you have a say in how I spend my money. No, no, it is _my_ money. Excuse me? What?!"

Steve, again, wasn't trying to over hear everything but when he heard Senna's tone increase, he stood at the beginning of the hallway, a concerned look on his face. That's when he saw the confused look on Senna's face fall to a look of fear. "When did you get home?" Steve heard her ask the phone. He deduced that this was the person she was seeing on the other side of the conversation and he didn't like that look on Senna's face. "Yes. Yes. I will be back soon. I'm sorry," she whispered those last words the way a child in trouble would say them. Senna hung up the phone, her demeanor completely changed. Her shoulders that were always pulled back and confident were slumped down. The light of wonder and excitement that shone in her eyes was gone and replaced with a dull, distant look. Her mouth curved down instead of up, and Steve could see her lower lip quivering lightly.

"Hey, Steve. I gotta go. I'm sorry for cutting out early, but something just came up," she said, making an excuse she used way too often. "I'll see you tomorrow though. I hope you have a good night. And if you need anything, just pick up the phone and call the agency. I put their number by the hard line in the kitchen." Senna moved to leave and Steve wanted to stop her and ask her what was wrong, but she shrugged off the concerned hand that he placed on her shoulder as she walked by him out of the hallway.

As she gathered her purse and took a brief look around the apartment, she left without further word, leaving Steve alone in his new place, wondering if he should go after her or not.

XXX

**I want to take this moment to thank those who have placed this story on their follow/favorite list. I am so honored and excited by it. Thank you to Amycita, PadfootCc, charinjon, ClaireSnape19, and Luna4816. I hope this chapter and the rest of this story lives up to what you all expect and want. :) And I am sorry if I insulted any Justin or Taylor fans. I am just personally not a fan.**


	5. Night and Day

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Marvel. Wish I did, somehow, but meh, that's life.**

**A/N: Apologies for how long it took to post this chapter, but it turned into a pretty lengthy chapter for me while hand writing it. I also realized that Talia is the name of a DC character, I didn't do that intentionally. The Talia in this story is totally made up, so is Blake Lyford. Totally made up.**

**There are WARNINGS for this chapter. Violence and mentions of rape.**

**xxx**

0914

"Has anyone seen Senna this morning?" Talia asked a passing agent. The answer was a negative one and the brunette kept on her way. She stopped by Senna's office, again, and found Captain Steve Rogers standing outside.

"Is she in yet?" Talia asked.

"No. I haven't seen her since yesterday," he replied.

The brunette's brows creased in concern. Her worry was increased when Natasha Romanoff came up and reported that Senna wasn't answering her phone. The women exchanged knowing looks, both thinking the worst. The looks didn't go unnoticed by Steve.

As the women began their silent retreat, Steve walked with them and insisted on coming with them, wherever they were going. "We're good Cap, but thank you," Natasha answered, never breaking her pace with Talia.

"I know you're worried that he hurt her, again," Steve confessed, his statement causing both women to stop and look at him.

"I mean, I know because I overheard you," he motioned to Talia, "and Senna talking about a bruise and then yesterday she got a phone call that made her look, well she looked afraid and then left suddenly."

Both of the women's eyes widened with the new information. "Right, so you're coming with us then. Let's go," Talia stated, the three picking up their walk again. They would take Natasha's car to Senna's townhouse and pray that they wouldn't have to call for back-up once there. For all three, the drive was silent and felt like it took forever, all of them worried about what they were walking into.

-15 hours prior- 1815

The drive from Steve's apartment to Senna's townhouse took forever because of evening traffic. Blake had come home earlier than she had expected and on top of that, he got into her financial profile and saw the charges she made on her account. It annoyed her that the man felt he should have a say on _her_ finances and she planned on telling him that as soon as she got home.

She was unaware of the way she looked when she left Steve. She had just fallen on autopilot when Blake demanded she come home immediately. Now, as she was finally pulling up to their shared abode, Senna let her annoyance fuel her actions.

She walked in fully prepared to give Blake a piece of her mind. But when she walked through the foyer and didn't hear or see her boyfriend, she dropped some of her courage. "Blake?" she called through their modest two story, attached townhouse. Blake had rented it and insisted Senna move in with him. That had been about a year ago, and things just went downhill from there.

When Senna came into the kitchen, she finally saw Blake sitting at their kitchenette table drinking a beer. "Hey honey," she greeted with a small, hesitant smile. She could never fully gage the man when he was still and silent the way he was now.

"Don't 'honey' me," he finally barked at her. Senna winced at the harshness of his tone. "Where have you been? What took you so long to get home?" he asked in a calmer tone.

Senna set her things down on a chair before answering. "Well, traffic was pretty crazy tonight," she explained lightly, hoping to keep things civil. Blake put his beer down and stood from the small table. "I'm tired. We'll talk later," he said, passing by her coldly and leaving the room to go upstairs.

Senna's shoulders slunk in relief.

-3 hours later-

Senna was downstairs, on the living room couch, going over her notes on Steve and figuring out what to discuss with him the following day. She studied his picture from the war. Her features softened as she looked at it and her mind reminded her of the feel of his lips on hers and how gentle his hand on her face was. A slight twinge of pink graced Senna's cheeks.

"What are you blushing at?" Blake asked harshly from behind her. The sudden intrusion on her thoughts made Senna jump and spill her files on the floor in front of her. She turned to look at her boyfriend and without warning, his hand flew out and smacked her across one of those flushed cheeks. The hit took her off guard and Senna wavered a bit.

"You're fucking him, aren't you? You even bought him groceries, cuz I sure as hell didn't see any in that fridge," he yelled.

"Blake, what the hell are you talking about?" Senna shouted back.

"Don't you lie to me!" His hand came out, again, but this time his fingers wrapped around her throat. Senna's hands flew up to push against his grip as she gasped for him to let her go. He responded by tossing her to the floor. Senna knew what was coming next as Blake stepped around the couch towards her. She tried to move backwards, out of his reach, but it was futile. The bigger man grabbed her by the ankle and dragged her to him, pulling her off the floor as if she was a doll.

"I'll show you who you belong to," he jeered as he dragged the struggling woman up the stairs and into their bedroom, where he threw her on the bed. "Blake, please, not like this. I didn't do -"

He shut her up with another slap before tearing her pants off her body. He didn't remove anything but his belt before climbing on top of her and simply pulling down her pants enough to expose himself. The crazed man ripped, actually ripped, Senna's cotton panties off of her skin as if they were merely a sheet of paper. He entered her harshly and Senna's eyes welled up with tears of pain. She hated this the most out of everything Blake had done to her. The man switched between choking her and hitting her legs with his belt while he raped her forcefully.

When he was finished, he threw her onto the floor and spit on her as if she were dirt. Senna couldn't hold back the tears as she shook on the floor, trying in vain to retrieve her jeans to put back on. Her hand shook wildly as she reached for the garment, but just as she grabbed it, that same hand let go of it and flew to the bigger hand that had just roughly grabbed her hair and pulled up.

"Blake, please," she tried begging again.

"You stupid cunt!" the man pulled harder on the hair tangled in his hand, forcing Senna to have to stand up. He then kneed her in the chest, knocking the wind out of her along with anymore protests she wanted to say. Hair still in his hand, Blake dragged Senna out of their room and proceeded to shove her down the stairs.

"That should stop you from getting pregnant with a bastard! You dirty fucking cunt!" he shouted at her as she tumbled down. Senna did her best to control the descent but it didn't stop it from hurting her. She just hoped the storm was over. She couldn't move much, which wouldn't bode well if Blake wasn't through with her yet.

Senna felt woozy as well as sick to her stomach. At the least, she had a concussion, but the sand-paper feeling in her throat told her she had bruises already on her neck, and the aching everywhere else told her there were probably others.

But it wasn't over yet, Senna could tell as Blake descended the stairs. She raised her arms in preparation for what was to come next, but they didn't help her because Blake gave a swift kick to her gut.

"Stupid bitch. You belong to me, you hear? No one else," he snided, stomping harshly on one of her ankles. Senna screamed as she heard and felt bone crush under Blake's foot. He walked away briefly, returning with a blanket from the couch that he tossed on her haphazardly. "Cover up, you disgusting twat. I'm going out. And to make sure your nosey co-workers don't come snooping around, I'm taking this." Blake held up her phone and made a show of putting it in his pocket. "Clean yourself up and go to bed, stupid bitch," he said as he grabbed his keys and wallet, checked himself over in the mirror on the wall near the door and proceeded to leave. He had gotten what he wanted out of Senna for the night, and now he was going to see Xenia, one of his ladies on the side. The woman, unlike Senna, enjoyed being rough and she had a basement dungeon to prove it.

- 12.5 hours later -

0935

Steve, Natasha, and Talia pulled up to the town house, all taking note that their friend's car was still sitting outside of it.

Their faces were serious as they knocked on the door. It was Talia who noticed it was open instead of locked and the three walked in. The interior was dark, the shades not opened to meet the sunlight that morning, and there was a faint sobbing coming from somewhere. They split up, one going upstairs, another going one side of the ground floor and Steve heading the other direction. The women had their guns drawn, prepared just in case. As for Steve, he was a super solider, he'd be fine on his own.

"Guys!" Steve called from the kitchen. He was the one to find the disheveled Senna curled up in the corner of the kitchen against some cabinets. She was wrapped crudely in a blanket around her waist.

After Blake had left, Senna pulled herself, painfully and slowly, to the kitchen for her first aid kit. She pulled herself up on her good leg for a few moments, just long enough to grab something to help splint her foot, a long wooden spoon and a spatula, before she lowered herself to the floor and got her kit from the cabinet under the sink. She addressed her ankle first, wrapping it the best she could with the splints and gauze followed by an athletic wrap. She popped and shook an instant ice bag and placed it on her neck, hoping the cold would reduce the bruising she felt there. She cried and wondered how she was going to explain all of this to people at work. The ankle, the bruising, the scrapes on her hands from trying to catch her fall down the stairs, the shallow breaths from bruised ribs and stomach. It wasn't a weekend. If it was a weekend, Senna had two days to pull herself together as well as her excuses, but she was supposed to be at work the next morning.

She didn't sleep, not well at least. Senna kept expecting Blake to return some time that night, so every sound she heard she bolted up to be ready for him. But he never came back that night. When daylight began lightly peeking through her windows in the kitchen, Senna broke down in tears all over again, exhaustion, fear, anger, and pain hitting her at once and hard.

When she heard her friends come in, she thought Blake had finally come back. She wasn't sure what to expect fully, but she wasn't expecting to see Steve's worried blue eyes meeting her tearful ones instead of seeing Blake. She turned from looking at him dead on, feeling ashamed of the whole situation. She jumped when Steve yelled for the others, whoever the others were.

"Over here! I found her!" he shouted again, as if his voice would make the women get there faster. He saw Senna wince again at his raised voice and he immediately regretted doing it.

"Hey," he said quieter. "It's okay now. I'm here. So is Talia and Natasha."

As if on cue, both women came into the kitchen with their guns up and quickly lowered them when they saw there was no threat.

"Oh my god," Talia whispered, her eyes surveying the damage, while Natasha went to Senna's side and knelt next to her. She gently placed a hand on Senna's chin to get a better look at the other woman's face and neck.

Talia called for an ambulance and then S.H.I.E.L.D. to tell them that they found Senna.

Steve followed Natasha's lead and knelt down on the other side of Senna, but he didn't touch her. He was too afraid of possibly hurting her or making her feel uncomfortable. Up close, he could see what looked to be some dried blood down parts of one of her legs that wasn't fully covered by the blanket, ugly bruises on her neck, a cut on her cheek, swollen lip, scraped hands and her foot wrapped up strangely. The site of her made him angry at who had done this to her.

"I'm sorry," Senna whispered. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I'm sorry you have to see this. I'm sorry..." Senna kept saying like a chant. Her eyes began tearing up again and she refused to look at anybody.

"Honey, no. Don't say that. We're getting help. Let's see if we can get you out of here, hu?" Talia told her lightly.

"Steve, do you think you can gently pick her up and move her to the couch?" Natasha asked. He nodded his response as Talia noticed something missing. "Tasha, she's not wearing any pants." The two women exchanged knowing looks, understanding what that probably meant.

"I'll get her something," Natasha replied, getting up and rushing up stairs to find something she could slip over her friend. She really wanted to clean Senna up, wash off all the blood, massage away the hurt, but that would also wash away all evidence as well, and so help her, that son of a bitch was going down this time. Natasha had seen a bruise or two a few times while changing or working out together, but Senna always blamed them on work-related injuries. But there was no doubt about this. Natasha would make sure justice was served for this.

While Natasha did her task, Talia helped Steve get Senna into his arms. It was effortless for the super solider to lift her but Talia made sure Senna remained covered and her leg didn't hit anything as the two moved her from the kitchen to the living room.

When she was picked up, Senna wrapped her arm around his neck and both her hands clung to his shirt. She didn't want to be dropped, or fall, but mostly, she just wanted to feel safe, and the strength and warmth of the man carrying her gave her that feeling.

Natasha came down stairs with a long skirt that could be slipped onto Senna from the head down. She didn't want to go near that injured leg and take a chance of damaging it further.

"Steve, can you place her up-right so I can slip this over her? Don't let her step on that leg at all," Natasha asked.

"Hun, we're going to put this on you. Steve and I got you so just relax, okay?" Talia said gently. Senna nodded her head in understanding, but still winced when Steve moved to place her upright. She kept her bad foot hovering above the floor, her hands still gripping Steve's shirt until the very last second as Natasha slowly lowered the skirt over Senna's head. The injured woman let go of one hand for the garment, then quickly replaced it before letting go of the other. As soon as the skirt was pulled down in its appropriate place, Talia took the blanket out from under it. Steve gently lifted her up into his arms again as all four heard the ambulance pull up.

Talia went outside to meet the EMTs and explain how they found Senna. Being in Steve's arms and around her friends, Senna was beginning to feel safe and incredibly tired. She rested her head on Steve's shoulder and closed her eyes.

Talia decided that it would be easier for Steve to carry Senna out to the stretcher rather than try and bring it in and take it out with her on it. She called for Steve to bring her out and he gently stepped towards her voice outside. Natasha followed behind and began talking to Talia about who should go with Senna in the ambulance. As Steve placed her on the stretcher lightly, the women decided that Steve would go with Senna while they stayed back and packed a go-bag for Senna before meeting up at the hospital.

Steve agreed, knowing the two agents would be more comfortable going through Senna's things than he would. He also suspected that the women would document everything they saw in the apartment, noting each and every piece of evidence to piece together what happened to Senna the night before.

Senna whined in pain as an EMT tried to get an IV in her arm after lifting the gurney into the back of the ambulance. The sound had all three S.H.I.E.L.D. agents turning their heads quickly to see what was wrong. The other EMT just gave them all an assuring look. "She's okay. Just procedure," he said.

Steve had a mixture of emotions: anger at the person who had done this; helplessness because he couldn't do anything to make her pain go away; fear for what had happened to her and the damage that had been caused to her; guilt for not insisting she tell him what was going on after the she hung up the phone, and pain over her being hurt.

He sat in the back of the ambulance and placed his hand into Senna's, covering both with his other hand.

The EMTs were trying to ask Senna and him questions, but Steve didn't know anything about Senna's personal history and Senna looked like she didn't want to be there, let alone answer questions.

"I got this," came a voice outside of the ambulance.

Agent Coulson was there, having left S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ right after receiving Talia's call. "If there's room, I'll answer all your questions on the way to hospital, he told the EMTs. They left him ride in the back with Steve and he sat next to the Captain.

"Hey there Fire Cracker. Everything's going to be okay now," Coulson said tenderly to Senna, his hand lightly touching her shoulder.

Senna looked at both men, both of them with concern and worry in their eyes. She was grateful her friends had found her and thankful that Coulson was there to take care of things for her. She was also embarrassed and tired and did not feel like talking. Everything hurt and most of all she just wanted all of it to be one big, bad dream.

Tears welled in her blue eyes and she gave Steve's hand a light squeeze. Coulson began answering the questions about Senna's medical history. He knew this information about his agents because 1) he cared about them and 2) he was on many of their emergency contacts, to include Senna's.

When the question came about how this had happened, Senna turned away from the two concerned men and whispered the usual, old lie, "I fell down the stairs. It was accident."

Both men spoke up at the same time, one saying, "Bullshit," and the other saying, "that's not true."

"Gentlemen please," said the EMT, "I think I know what I'm doing, it's not the first time I've heard that excuse," he explained. He turned his attention back to the woman. "You can''t explain all of these injuries with a simple tumble. Like those hand marks around your neck. So, here's what can happen, Miss Liddell, you can either answer me truthfully here or you can answer a police officer at the hospital, your choice? And I know there are consequences for lying to the police," he said.

Senna lightly nodded her head in acknowledgement, but she kept her face turned away from her peers. Steve was beginning to wonder if one of the ladies should have come with Senna instead, but when she squeezed his hand again, he decided that she must've felt just as safe with him as she would with Talia or Natasha.

"He hit me," Senna said plainly.

"A couple of times, from the look of it," replied the EMT. He briefly glanced at the Captain, gauging the man's response to the woman's confession. He didn't actually think the man holding her hand had done this, but as a professional he had to be 100% sure on the matter.

Steve didn't notice the glance because he was too busy looking at Senna, but Coulson saw it and didn't like it. "I know who did this, sir, and it wasn't anyone in this vehicle," he replied calmly yet precisely.

Steve looked up then, having realized what may have just occurred, but he didn't get to make his own remark because they had reached the hospital and the other EMT was pulling open the doors to help get Senna out.

The EMTs rushed her inside and the two men were briefly shown to the waiting area.

About ten minutes later, the ladies showed up and Talia went straight to where they had Senna to inform the nurse and doctor that they should run a rape kit due to the evidence they found at the apartment. Senna shot her friend a look but Talia's return look was graver. She wasn't playing around this time, and she didn't care if Senna hated her for the next 100 years for this, but Talia would pull government rank if she had to get her friend all the help she needed as well as the evidence needed to put that bastard in prison for what he had done.

"Doc, if she's not going to press charges, we are. She is a government employee and her injuries keep her from fully doing her job which hinders our job as a whole. He's injured our business by injuring her and we are in full authority to bring charges against him," Coulson chimed in behind Talia.

"Okay, thank you for all this. Now please go back to the waiting area until we've finished everything. A nurse will come and let you know when she can see visitors." The doctor was polite but direct, and he too wasn't messing around. Talia and Coulson took their leave without further comment.

Steve couldn't sit, so instead he paced in the waiting room. He was trying to wrap his mind around the whole thing. He felt powerless to do anything, and he hated it. As he paced, Talia showed Coulson the pictures she and Natasha took while in the apartment: the blood stained sheets, the torn clothing, the scattered files, papers, and pictures on the living room floor, the knocked over end-stand-table at the bottom of the stairs, and the blanket that had been wrapped around Senna when they found her. Natasha was making a phone call at the request of Coulson and when she finished, she came back over to everyone with a triumphant smile on her face and a wink at Coulson.

About ten to fifteen minutes later, everyone overheard something.

"Hi, I'm here for Senna Liddell. I'm Blake Lyford, her boyfriend and the hospital called and said she had been beaten or something like that?" said a man at the nurse's station.

There was fire in all four of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents' eyes, but no one made a move in the man's direction, at first. Talia balled up a first and was going to get up from her seat, but Natasha placed an arm over her and stopped the action.

The nurse instructed Blake to have a seat in the waiting area with the others. Steve's jaw clenched and he halted his pacing, his hands behind his back as he visually sized up the man heading their direction.

Blake was about 6 foot even, making him a half a foot taller than Senna. He was about 165-170 pounds, muscular, making him between 35 and 40 pounds heavier than Senna. He could probably hit something with the force of about 150 to 200 pounds, making him at least 50 pounds stronger than Senna, if not more. The more Steve compared the two, the more angry he became over the entire situation. The thought of this man exerting 50 pounds or more of force on Senna made him sick to his stomach.

Although he was calm on the surface, inside, Steve was livid, sizing up the coward in front of him and seeing a slight bruising on the other man's knuckles. Steve took a threatening step forward, but Agent Coulson's back, suddenly appearing, blocked his path.

"Blake, it's nice to see you again," the agent faked greeted the coward, holding his hand out for a hand shake.

"Yea, hi, who are you again?" Blake asked, placing his hand in Coulson's for the shake.

Without warning, Coulson gripped Blake's hand then twisted the man's arm up and behind his back before grabbing the man's other hand and putting it behind the back with the other.

"Blake Lyford, you're under arrest for assault, battery, and when the results come in, rape," Coulson announced, taking handcuffs out from his pocket before signaling for two nearby police officers to come over.

"Excuse me? What the fuck are you doing?" the coward barked as he was being cuffed.

"He said, you're under arrest for what you did to Senna," Talia said, now able to get up from her seat, a smug look on her face. If it wasn't in bad taste, Talia would have taken a picture of the man's face while he was being arrested and escorted out of the hospital.

A lot of Steve's anger dropped as he saw the coward being lead by the two police officers.

"Man! That felt good! Stupid son of a bitch is finally going to get it now," Coulson said.

**xxx**

**Right, so, sorry for this delay of a release, but this took me a while to write and then I had computer issues and then I graduated, and then I celebrated and then I got a job and then I worked and then more computer issues and then illness and then FINALLY this chapter.**

**Thank you to the new people who have added me to their favorites and/or watch lists. Thank you to those who have reviewed and to those who have been around since I first published this story. This truly goes on because of you all.**

**Special shout out to ****Spirit Kiss**** for your review about the boyfriend. I was smiling extra wide while typing out the ending of this chapter, just imagining what your response to it would be.**

**Till laterz, "Keep Calm and Love a Tattooed Girl"**


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